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Can a preseason functional muscle assessment reduce muscle injuries?

The preseason period is very important in terms of the overall preparation of football players to all the efforts, strains and impacts that they will endure during the season. Askling, Karlsson and Thorstensson (2003) have shown that the addition of specific preseason strength training for the hamstrings would be beneficial for elite soccer players, both from the injury prevention and performance enhancement point of view. The effect of a preseason conditioning program on adolescent female football players in relation to its influence on the occurrence and severity of soccer injuries was also studied by Heidt, et.al (2000). They have concluded that preseason training has a significant influence on lowering the incidence of injury. However, in order to get the most out of this period and optimize the performance / prevent injuries on an individual level, adequate diagnostics is needed. In this manner, Witvrouw, Danneels, Asselman, D’Have and Cambier (2003) suggest that a preseason hamstring and quadriceps muscle flexibility testing can identify male soccer players at risk of developing hamstring and quadriceps muscle injuries. Orchard, Marsden, Lord and Garlick (1997), have furthermore shown in their study that preseason isokinetic testing of professional Australian footballers can identify players at risk of developing hamstring muscle strains. Kiesel, Plisky, & Voight (2007) additionally suggest that professional football players with dysfunctional fundamental movement patterns as measured by the Functional Movement Screen™ (FMS™) are more likely to suffer an injury than those scoring higher on the FMS™. Apart from that, Tensiomyography (TMG) as an established method for the assessment of muscle function provides an athlete’s detailed muscle profile, which is used for training and injury prevention optimization in the preseason period. Consequently, such individual muscle profiles are widely used in elite football clubs.